Afternoon Practice
by Tig Jones
Summary: Neji was touching her – holding her. He had never done this before – she had never been held this intimately before. [companion piece to Dispassion]


**Afternoon Practice**

By Tig Jones

* * *

"Neji-nisan…?" Hinata began to ask as she dropped into the opening stance of a new taijutsu technique Neji was teaching her. For the most part, her cousin was ignoring her, instead choosing to read beneath the shade of a tree near the field where Hinata was practicing. 

She jumped when he interrupted her.

"Don't call me that," he said brusquely. Hinata froze.

"Sorry," she said before pausing. What should she call him then? Neji-_san_; he'd think she was mocking him. Neji-_kun_; she couldn't put him on the same level as Shino, Kiba, or even Naruto. And no matter how it was looked at, there was no way she could get away with calling him Neji-_sama._

"I'm sorry," Hinata tried again, "… _Neji_." His name sounded strong on her lips. She smiled, missing the ghost of another that appeared on her cousin's face.

"What was you question, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked once his feature had arranged themselves into his usual scowl. She frowned at him and he internally squirmed at the direct look in her eyes, a look that had not been possible a year ago. His nod of acquiescence was almost imperceptible.

"Hinata," he amended simply. The pointed look gave way to bright eyes. Then Hinata flushed.

"I… I've forgotten my question," she said, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry."

Hinata blinked. "Oh! It's… it's not your fault!"

"But it was I who interrupted your question."

N – n – no. I just f – forgot," she stammered, before noticing Neji's satisfied smirk. He'd recently begun teasing her by mockingly using the formalities they were supposed to engage in, and playing up his role as a member of the branch family to her main house.

_Frequently she was left flustered, annoyed and confused. She hated when he smirked at her._

Setting her jaw, Hinata placed her hands on her hips and tried to look down her nose at the taller man.

"You're right. That was poorly done of you…" she couldn't help but giggle.

"_Bad Neji_."

He choked.

Hinata began to move towards him, her smile broad with mirth.

"Oh, Neji," she simpered, her voice thick with mocking sympathy. "Are you alright?"

He merely glared at her, a suspicious red colour staining his pale cheeks.

"No," he said, as he stood up. "I'm not alright. I do believe I'm supposed to be helping you train, and you appear to be just standing there."

Despite his sarcastic tone, Hinata continued to smile at him as she fell back into position. Neji walked over to her, shaking his head.

"There is much room for improvement," he stated. He stood behind her and placed his hands on her waist. They were warm on her skin where her shirt did not quite meet her bottoms. She held her breath.

_Neji was touching her – holding her. He had never done this before – she had never been held this intimately before._

"You should be carrying yourself more upright. Your stomach should be tight."

He moved his hands up a little higher, making her spine straighten. All the while, his fingers, just touching her bare skin underneath the hem of her shirt, moved over her sides.

It tickled! She hadn't even known she was ticklish.

_Neji was tickling her._

"Ah!" she squealed as she attempted to move away, but he held her tight, his laughter sounding in her ears.

_Neji was laughing._

Focusing her chakra, she made a half-hearted effort to escape using Gentle Fist. He retaliated, and it soon degraded into childish grappling. In the end, Hinata was trapped once again, Neji standing behind her with his long arms wrapped around her upper body, preventing her from moving.

Between laughing and fighting, Hinata was winded, and leaned back against Neji's chest to catch her breath. Neji's breathing was laboured.

The sound of it sent warm darts into her lower belly and she squirmed at the sensation.

Neji gasped into her ear and Hinata became aware of his erection pressing into her back. She bit her lip as the warmth blossomed in her cheeks, in her breasts. Her eyes squeezed tight in embarrassment, she leaned her lower body back into Neji. He groaned this time, and his head fell onto her shoulder.

"_Do you know what you're doing_?" he asked against her neck, his voice harsh. His breath against her delicate neck made her shudder.

"Do you?" she whispered back. Neji's arms had slipped down and were now holding her hips. To prevent her from moving closer, or moving away, she didn't know. She couldn't even think – not with Neji's lips on her shoulder distracting her like they were.

Without much thought to her action, Hinata whipped around. Her exclamation at the sensation of her softness pressed against his hardness was swallowed in his kiss. With one hand in her shoulder-length hair and the other on small of her back, Neji was trying to envelop her.

When his tongue touched hers, Hinata melted, grabbing at Neji's shoulders for support. Sensing her instability, Neji grabbed her firmly about her waist and lifted her up, never breaking their kiss. Hinata found the need for her legs to wrap themselves around his hips in order to brace herself.

Neji backed her into a tree, and the feeling of the rough bark against her hot sensitive skin made Hinata gasp, breaking this kiss. Neji took this opportunity to place a sucking kiss at the base of her neck, causing Hinata to arch her back, pressing her body even closer to his. Hinata looked up and watched the orange light filtering through the canopy overhead. The sun would be setting soon.

"I guess afternoon practice is over," she moaned as Neji nipped at her chin.

"Really, _Hinata-sama_?" Neji drawled. "I believe it has just begun. And there is much room for improvement."

Hinata looked down, and couldn't stand that complacent smirkon his face. It would have to go.

She trailed the tip of her pink warm tongue along the rim of his ear and grinned as his hips jerked forward.

"_Is that so, Neji-nisan?_"

* * *

Author's Note: I wrote this going to and from work today, to prevent myself from falling asleep on the subway. I wasn't sure I wanted to put a 'training' lime into another story or have it as a one-shot, but the reviews for Dispassion made me very happy, so here this is. It fits somewhere after Hinata became a chounin and before Neji plays with Hinata's hair. I'm sort of shocked that I wrote this, but it was fun anyway. 

Dedicated to CherylHew, jonesinspace, Riana1, and ShinakaStar whose reviews made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

March 5/05 – a little under two hours.


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